Protest in Lac-Mégantic over rail safety after train tragedy

As of 1 p.m. Sunday, residents will be out in the streets of Lac-Mégantic protesting for better rail safety — almost a year after a tragic train derailment killed 47 people in their town.

Since Montreal, Maine and Atlantic (MMA) restarted its routes in Lac-Mégantic last December, there have been two small train derailments, one in January, another in April.

The residents, who formed a group called the Mouvement carré bleu de Lac-Mégantic, say they want MMA to stop sending trains containing oil through their downtown. Their spokesperson, Jonathan Santerre, says MMA needs to build a new track that goes around it.

“It’s really worrisome for us, we are rebuilding our downtown but we don’t have any guarantee that a tragic train derailment won’t happen again,” Santerre said.

This is the second demonstration planned by the group, on March 22nd residents held a silent walk through Lac-Mégantic.